Americas News
US Shipping Lines Deny Fraudulent Bunker Surcharge Claim
The U.S. government has accused Pacific shippers Horizon Lines LLC (Horizon) and Matson Navigation Co. Inc. (Matson) of the wrongful application of bunker fuel surcharges and defrauding the nation's military of millions of dollars, claims that both firms have explicitly denied, Guam news site Guampdn.com reports.
A complaint filed in the Central District of California says that the two shipping lines inflated shipping costs through the application of a bunker fuel surcharge for shipping military members' belongings even when the goods were moved by train.
The two carriers receive contracts from the U.S. military for shipping from the U.S. mainland to Guam and Hawaii.
Both Horizon and Matson denied any wrongdoing, arguing that any fraudulent charges were caused by other players outside of their control.
"Any asserted injuries to the United States were caused by independent, intervening, and/or superseding events beyond the control of Matson," the firm said in its response.
Horizon made a similar similar defence, saying any wrongful payments were "by third persons over whom Horizon had neither control nor responsibility."
Military contracts prohibit fuel surcharges for rail shipments but allow them for goods moved by ship, but the complaint alleges that the charges were applied to the rail portion of shipments, concealed in a single surcharge line.
The court documents say that the surcharges, which can be added to the competitively bid prices for shipping to account for bunker prices, rose from 5 percent to as much as 40 percent of the transportation rate over time.
The complaint comes as the U.S. Navy continues to respond to a fraud and bribery scandal involving Singapore contractor Glen Defense Marine Asia Ltd. (GDMA).
